It’s a long season - Caddis

Paul Caddis is not overly concerned by Rovers’ start to the season – insisting there is an awful lot of football still to be played.

With 44 games to go, Caddis is well aware that a run of positive results can see a side quickly shoot up the league table.

The Scot was pleased with Rovers’ performance against Coventry in the Carabao Cup, but stressed the importance of getting the first league points on the board as soon as possible.

“I think the Coventry game we were quite comfortable in that,” said the right-back.

“We’re still finding our feet in this league, but I believe we’ll definitely get going. It's just a matter of getting that first result and then getting a run of results.

“League One is similar to the Championship, maybe not as much as quality, but it's all blood and guts.

“There's 46 games, so it's a tough league and like any league if you go on a run then it fires you straight up the table. But it's very early, we've still got 44 games to go.

“When you look at it, at the start of the season, with the new Checkatrade Trophy, you're guaranteed 51 games a year, regardless of how well you do in the cups. I think that's a minimum, so it is a long season.

“I think the manager has spoken about it as well, he’s trying to get a bigger squad, so there's more depth in the squad and just keep getting quality through the door.

“We’re looking to get straight back up into the Championship and kick on from there. So we need to be positive, we need to respect the league, respect our opponents and take each game as it comes and hopefully by the end of the season we’ll be going up as winners.”

Caddis admits the experienced players in the squad will all have major roles to play – both on and off the pitch – if Rovers are to have a successful season.

The former Celtic and Birmingham defender, who made the 300th appearance of his club career in the 3-1 victory at Coventry, is one of a number of senior pros in the Rovers squad.

And the 29-year-old admits he enjoys the responsibility of helping the younger players in the group to progress.

“I think it always helps,” he added. “I remember when I was young, you always seem to look at the lads that have played the 250-300 games.

“You look at them when times are maybe not going well in games and think ‘come on, this is where we need you, this is where we need your experience’ and I enjoy that.

“I enjoy the responsibility side of things and hopefully as a whole, collectively, we can all work together, read off the same page and get promoted.”